Franchise Consulting vs. Sales vs. Brokerage

There’s no single ‘type’ of person who comes to the realization that they’re interested in starting a franchise. There are not even a few categories of such folks — they come in all attitudes, shapes, sizes, and abilities. If you’re talking to the folks who get people into franchises, however, there are exactly three categories: you have the people who do franchise consulting, the ones who do franchise sales, and the ones who do franchise brokerage.

Notice I don’t say “franchise consultants, franchise salespeople, and franchise brokers.” That’s deliberate, because a surprising number of people in this arena manage to completely mis-use those terms. You’ll find people doing franchise consulting but labeled “Franchise Broker,” and so on. So let’s talk about the difference between these activities categories.

Franchise Consulting: Pay Money, Get Tough Love

Franchise consulting is “getting paid by a person to determine whether that person would make a good franchisee and, if so, which franchise their abilities are most appropriate for.” Franchise consultants tend to focus the vast majority of their time and attention on that first part: on assessing their clients’ ability to handle a franchise. If a client of theirs goes into business and fails, they ‘lose face’ (so to speak).

Unfortunately, this creates a harsh dynamic, because they’re incentivized to tell most people that they won’t succeed as franchisees — and the people they say this to are the ones paying their bills. So talking to someone who is consulting with you on your ability to franchise is often like giving someone money to kick your dreams into the gutter.

Franchise Sales: Everything Looks Like a Nail

On the other extreme, you have franchise salespeople. Franchise salespeople will put you in a franchise if you can afford it — because they work for a franchiser, and they get paid for each person they sign up as a franchisee. It doesn’t matter what you did for a living or what you love to do with your life, they have the same suggestion: hand over a pile of money, because being a franchisee for their particular company is great!

Needless to say, if you’ve been a car parts salesman for years, and the franchise recruiter for Subway is selling Subway, they’ll pitch you Subway, end of story. They have no other options, and they have no income if you don’t sign up — so they have no incentive to do anything other than ‘whatever it takes to get you to sign up.’

Franchise Brokerage: Matchmaker

In between the two, combining the best aspects of both, you have the franchise broker. These folks work for large groups — as many as ‘several hundred’ — franchisers, and they get paid by those collectives to match your skills and circumstances to the franchise that you are the most likely to succeed at.

A franchise broker won’t kick your dreams, but they also won’t try to wedge you into a mold that you don’t fit. If you believe that a franchise is in your future, a broker is usually the best person to talk to.

Getting hooked up with a franchise broker is easier than most people think. Franchise City offers free unlimited services from brokers who are under contract with nearly 600 of the top brands across a wide range of industries. Through a unique and proven 20 step process, we help clients find the best franchise business to fit your passion, interests and budget. To get started, go here or fill out our contact form at the bottom of this page.